Mild steel process selection

For XPR® and HyPerformance® HPR400® XD

Expected quality/speed results in inches per minute (ipm)
XPR HPR

02/02 02/Air 02/Air

Thickness
(inches) 30 A 50 A 80 A 130 A 170 A 220 A 300 A 400 A
26 GA 215
24 GA 200
22 GA 170
20 GA 155
18 GA 110
16 GA 85
14 GA 60
12 GA 50 155 225
1/8 43 148 217
10 GA 40 145 180 240
3/16 30 95 155 190 230
1/4 70 110 150 200 240
5/16 55 96 130 170 –
3/8 75 110 140 150 180
7/16 62 95 127 – –
1/2 55 80 115 125 155* 170 XPR HPR
9/16 70 97 125 140* – n Category 3 n Non PCT
5/8 60 80 110 130 150 Category 1 n PCT
n
3/4 45 65 85 105 115
7/8 32 55 75 90 100
n Category 2 n Edge start

1 20 45 60 75 85 n Category 4
1-1/8 18 37 50 65 – n Category 5
1-1/4 16 30 40 55 65
1-3/8 12 25 35 47 –
1-1/2 10 20+ 30 40 48 * N2 used as shield gas
1-9/16 17+ – – –
+ Argon assist
1-5/8 17 25 35 –
Our cutting systems offer a wide variety of
1-3/4 14 20 30* 40
process options to meet your requirements.
1-7/8 12 15 25* –
Hypertherm Associates process engineers work to
2 10 12 21*+ 30
optimize a range of thicknesses to obtain the best
2-1/8 – 9 18* – overall balance of productivity and cut quality.
2-1/4 – 8 17* 25 This optimized range is called the Process Core
2-3/8 6 7 15* – Thicknesses (PCT).
2-1/2 6 14* 20
2-5/8 12* –
2-3/4 10* –
2-7/8 8* –
3 7* 10
 Process category options and expected quality-speed results for ferrous (mild steel) processes
XPR category
Number Condition Description Quality Speed

Process Core • Best overall balance of productivity and cut quality

n 1 Thickness • The process is optimized for this thickness Very good Very good
(PCT) • Virtually dross free

Thicker than • Good choice when edge quality is more important than speed
n 2
PCT
Very good to excellent Lower
• Some low-speed dross

Thinner than • Good choice when speed is more important than cut edge quality
n 3
PCT
Lower Higher
• Virtually dross free

Edge start • Edge start is required with the exception of argon assist processes
n 4 for most Good Low
processes • Thick, low-speed dross is likely

• Maximum thickness for these processes

• Edge start required
• Cut speeds are very slow, in most cases expect less than 10 in/min
n 5 Severance Very low Very low
• Cut edge quality can be rough
• Significant dross
• Thick-metal cutting technologies can be necessary

Pierce settings in the cut charts are based on standard-position torch angles (at a 90° angle to the workpiece)

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